Category: Gadgets

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are Apple’s latest devices to be released to the market. As always, there are new features which may tempt you into purchasing the 7. But you may want to wait…

We have the iPhone 7 here at our offices and I can tell you it is a beautiful phone. Design wise, it’s similar to the iPhone 6, but with the removal of the headphone jack and a newly designed rear camera. Apple also released new colors in the form of matte black and jet black to go along with the current gold and rose gold options.

Updates

Technical updates include a new 12mp rear camera, with the iPhone 7 now also being able to capture and edit raw images. The front-facing camera has also been upgraded to 7 megapixels from 5 megapixels (The iPhone 7 Plus includes 2 rear cameras: one wide and one telephoto lens) The iPhone 7 is now water and dust resistant, has an extra 2 hours’ battery life and can be purchased with a maximum storage size of 256GB. Other upgrades include a faster A10 Fusion chip which makes the iPhone 7 twice as powerful and a new wide colour display which gives an extra 25% in the brightness department. Add these features to a new touch sensitive home button, stereo speakers and IOS 10, and you have yourself a nice, new upgrade. It is worth it.

Using the iPhone 7 is very similar to its predecessor, there is no difference to how this model feels when holding and using the device. The biggest difference is the new capacitive home button, which feels great as it gives a little vibration through the bottom of the phone when pressed. You will notice when the phone is off; the button can’t be pressed. This happens because it is no longer a physical button but a pressure sensitive pad. When setting up the phone, the user is given a choice of three click options, ranging from what I would describe a soft, medium and hard click.

As expected, the Camera produces a higher quality and more vivid; there is a marked visual improvement over the iPhone 6 when comparing the same scene captured on the iPhone 6 and 7. Other things you will notice is that the Audio from the stereo speaker setup is improved and the fact there is no earphone jack. If you want to use earphones other than Apple, then an adapter is provided in the iPhone 7 box, just don’t leave this small, white adapter at home. (This is bound to happen, its already happened to me)

Why you should wait

I have been telling you to hold on, wait for what? Well, 2017 is Apple’s 10th anniversary of iPhone. Many are saying that Apple will skip the S updates, which usually come after a new model, and will go straight to releasing an iPhone 8 with some significant improvements and updates. Apple employees have apparently confirmed this to The New York Times which would explain the lack of visual design changes. You might want to consider your options and hold on to your current phone before you sign a new 24-month mobile contract. If money is not an issue, go ahead and get yourself a nice new upgrade.

We wish Opel’s reasoning as to why the Corsa Sport has wind-up windows in the rear was because of weight saving. That’s the only logical explanation we can think of, even if we know it’s not true. At least with that explanation, boy racers can use it as a bragging tool at meet-ups when the topic comes up.

It was a very annoying thing to realise, mainly because by the time we realised it, we had talked up the Corsa Sport so much to our peers. How great it drives, how economical it is and how well built it is are but a few of the praises we gave it until someone piped up and said “why doesn’t it have electric windows in the back?”. Then silence occurred, “your face has no electric windows in the back!” we wanted to say, but that wouldn’t have worked, so we had no come back.

That’s the thing about the new Corsa’s, they’re very good so you end up growing too attached to them. Maybe it’s the looks, maybe it’s the comfortable hugging seats or maybe it’s because as a normal day to day car, it does such a fine job even when you’re driving like a civilised person. The Corsa Sport is not the fastest thing to come out of the brand and competitors like the Suzuki Swift Sport provide a better cheap thrill. But, thrills only last so long, as long as you have an empty road which isn’t often nowadays.

So it’s when you’re doing everyday things that you come to really appreciate the Corsa Sport. It’s when you need to overtake, or when that more luxurious German brand tries to move you off the right lane, but you decide to show him/her that you too can keep up. It’s also when you look at it, and those Bi-Xenon light’s give you a wink and that front end smiles at you. It’s then that you appreciate that this is a good all round package, the same feeling we had with Sunny, the Sport’s 1.0-litre sibling.

Maybe that’s why Opel didn’t bother with the rear electric windows and instead gave us PDC, reverse camera, City Steering and touch screen infotainment as standard. They knew that as irritating as it will be, it won’t be a make or break factor. Maybe it will be for non-boy-racers who knows? But for those that enjoy some fun behind the wheel, they can just say it’s for “weight saving”. So if you’re into a little excitement but at the same time want a good looking, quality car, then perhaps the 110 kW from the Sport’s 1.4-litre turbo is for you. At just under R260 000, it’s well priced for a junior hot(ish) hatch.

The new iPad Pro : Hands on review.

A better name for the new iPad would probably be the “iPad Juice”, because Apple have really pumped some steroids into this one. I’ve been using the new iPad for a month now. Do I like it? I love it.

First of all, this new iPad Pro is rather large, so if you only plan on reading books, checking your email and feeding your Jelly Splash addiction, then this is not the iPad for you. On the other hand if you’re a designer, photographer or something along those lines, or if you frequently work on the move then you might want to carry on reading.

In the case of the iPad Pro, size does matter and the 13inch retina screen makes the world of a difference. Add 4gb ram and faster processer to that and you quickly realize that it’s a dream to work on.

It feels light in the hands and not cumbersome at all, it handles Raw photographic files very well and with virtually no lag, Adobe’s new line of design apps work really well too. I’ve also been typing Word documents on this device using the onscreen keyboard. Now I’ve heard a few people say that it isn’t that great, but interestingly I’ve had no issues and found that it’s a breeze to work on. (Apple Magic Keyboard is also available).

One of the best features on this machine though, is being able to use two apps at the same time. I’ve used this a few times and the screen is definitely big enough to work on both easily. This cuts out the need to change apps when looking for or entering information. As a photographer I didn’t have any use for the new Apple Pencil as that is aimed more at designers and artists, so I have yet to try this nifty addition out.

Sadly, as is always the case with Apple, the gear is not cheap. The 128gb Wi-Fi version that I use, set me back around R 16 000. If you want to add the Apple Pencil to your toolbox you will need to budget for another R2000. Yikes. The Apple Magic keyboard designed for the Pro will also set you back another R3500 and the basic Apple covers are not far off that price either. It’s a bit of joke but it’s to be expected. It’s like buying a premium car, you can’t expect budget prices.

Funny enough, the money you will spend on an iPad Pro could also be used to purchase a MacBook. One would seriously need to weigh up your requirements to see what would be the best option. As stated previously, I personally use the iPad Pro to backup and edit Raw files. The transfer speed using the new Apple card reader is also very fast, so for that use it works really well. Apart from that I’ve been writing, reading, emailing, planning and watching a bit of Netflix.

There are also specific apps designed for the iPad Pro and they can make quite a big difference. I still have my iMac in the office for heavy duty work, but for when I’m on the move the iPad Pro is the really the “bee’s knees”(yes I said that).